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When you enter St. Gabriel Church, you will notice on the arch above the sanctuary, in gold letters on blue are the words in Latin “The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary”, referring to Gabriel, the archangel to whom the parish is dedicated.
St. Gabriel is one of seven archangels who enter and serve before the Glory of the Lord, and one of the three archangels mentioned in Sacred Scripture: Michael (Revelation 12:7-9), Raphael (Tobit 12:15), and Gabriel (Luke 1:27-28). According to Sacred Scripture, the archangel Gabriel is the messenger angel who appeared to people in the Old Testament and the New Testament on many different occasions. In some appearances, Gabriel is mentioned by name. On other occasions, Gabriel is thought to be the unnamed angel who appeared and made announcements to Moses, to Saints Joachim and Anne, to the shepherds at Jesus’ birth, to the myrrh bearing women approaching Jesus’ tomb, and to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane to strengthen him. He revealed to Saints Joachim and Anne the conception of the Virgin Mary. He appeared to Zachariah to announce the birth of St. John the Baptist. (Luke 1:10-20) In Gabriel’s best known and most celebrated appearance, he announced to Mary that she would bear a son, who would be conceived of the Holy Spirit, and would be called Son of the Most High, and Savior of the World. (Luke 1:26-38) The feast of St. Gabriel was included in the Roman calendar in 1921, for celebration on March 24, the day before the Feast of the Annunciation. In l969, the feast day for St. Gabriel the Archangel was changed to September 29 for a combined celebration with the Archangels Michael and Raphael. Saint Gabriel is the patron saint of messengers, communication workers and postal workers. |
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